- "Anything Boys Can Do" (star) (star) 1/2 (Ethan Minsker; U.S.). A provocative though ultimately conventional exploration of New York's underground "riot grrls" movement comprising all-women bands, performance artists, poets and anarchists who float in the forlorn spaces of the Lower East Side. The choice of music (Tribe 8, Wives, Sexpod, the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black) is sharp, the performers articulate; the problem is a failure to yield any deeper insights into the formation of a culture. 9 p.m. Friday -- Patrick Z. McGavin

- "Latin Boys Go to Hell" (star) (star) (Ela Troyano; U.S.). A nightmarish tale about Latino boys' tragic romanticism and their notions of the Macho. Obsessed with an over-the-top soap opera, Braulio determines how to manage his own often violent desires through the ethics learned on TV. Based in the Latino community, Troyano's story is an up-close look at how Latinos perceive their sexual selves. 9:15 p.m. Friday -- Achy Obejas

- "Finished" (star) (star) 1/2 (William E. Jones; U.S.). An incredibly disturbing film, "Finished" focuses on director Jones' obsession with Alan Lambert, a gay porn star who committed suicide at age 25 rather than experience aging. Jones' journey to find the essence of Lambert, who he first sees as a pin-up boy, is an oddly hypnotic trip into the porn industry, apocalyptic semi-fascist politics and the edges of mental illness. 1:15 p.m. Saturday -- A.O.

- "Madchen in Uniform" (star) (star) (star) (star) (Leontine Sagan; German; 1931). A brilliant portrayal of psychological and cultural oppression at an all-girls school, "Madchen in Uniform" charts the growing romantic obsession of a sensitive student (Hertha Thiele) for her only kind teacher (Dorothea Wieck) -- with Emilia Unda as the tyrannical principal who drives the girl away from her idol and toward suicide. "Madchen" is a precursor of doom: depicting so well the brutal psyche of the nascent Hitler era that its director -- Max Reinhardt protege and former stage actress Sagan -- was soon forced to leave the country. 3:15 p.m. Saturday -- Michael Wilmington

- "The Investigator" (star) (star) (star) (Chris Oxley; United Kingdom). A crisp, intelligent and furious dramatization about the life of Caroline Meagher, a dedicated British army officer who served 12 years in the elite Special Investigations Branch. The story explores Meagher's profoundly uneasy personal dilemma when she is assigned to ferret out women from the armed forces women who were suspected of being lesbian -- with complications arising when her own sexuality comes into question. Helen Baxendale's appealing, taut performance anchors the film. 9:30 p.m. Saturday -- P.Z.M.

- "Victor and Victoria" (star) (star) (star) (Reinhold Schunzel; German; 1933). The original inspiration for Blake Edwards' 1982 cross-dressing comedy -- about a woman who disguises herself as a female impersonator and becomes the toast of Berlin cabaret society -- is light, fizzy and enjoyable: a lesser work than its remake but fun to watch. Brassy Renate Muller is the gender-bending heroine, saucily supported by Anton Walbrook, who was later a favorite actor of both Michael Powell and Max Ophuls. 3:15 p.m. Sunday -- M.W.

- "Peoria Babylon" (star) (star) (star) (Steven Diller; U.S.). The best things about this film are Ann Cusack, in a hilarious performance, and the soundtrack by Bradley Parker-Sparrow. A wonderfully funny send-up about the art world, "Peoria Babylon" also takes pokes at small-town America, sex roles and dirty politics. Charming all the way around. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday -- A.O.

- "The Delta" (star) (star) (star) (Ira Sachs; U.S.). An evocative and lyrical first feature by Ira Sachs reconfigures the quiet desperation and romantic fatalism of the road movie in this edgy, moving work about radical opposites, an alienated, middle-class 17-year-old and an older Vietnamese emigre who fall in love and escape on a boat that drifts along the Mississippi River. Benjamin P. Speth's textured cinematography acutely captures the racial and class stratifications that Sachs works within. From its opening shots of casual, anonymous car sex, this supple, lean film is alive to possibility and feeling. 9:15 p.m. Sunday -- P.Z.M.

- "Slaves to the Underground" (star) (star) (star) (Christine Peterson; U.S.). A lively and energetic film set on the edges of Seattle's vibrant rock movement, "Slaves" studies the political and personal ramifications of an unconventional love triangle and its impact on a "riot grrl" rock group. Molly Gross is superb as the talented, determined young woman caught in the middle who must reconcile her passion and idealism. Bill Cody's script veers a bit too frequently into a polemic, though the engaging, skilled cast frequently transcends the material. The film isn't deep or provocative, though it has a purity of feeling and youthful exuberance. 9:30 p.m. Thursday -- P.Z.M.